Construction at Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport. The Howard Hughes Corporation is spending $425 million to rebuild Pier 17 and erect a glassy four-story mall.CreditPablo Enriquez for The New York Times

South Street Seaport, the low-scale, brick waterfront district that was once home to New York City’s booming maritime industry, made it to the top of a national list.

But it is no cause for celebration.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation put the district, which is south of the Brooklyn Bridge, on its annual list of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” which was released Wednesday.

The trust contends that the 11-block historic district and its early-19th-century buildings are threatened by a series of development proposals, including one for a high-rise condominium tower on a pier at the foot of Beekman Street.

“The proposed developments will have an overwhelming impact on the historic neighborhood, diminishing the seaport’s unique relationship to the water and compromising one of the most intact 19th-century neighborhoods in Manhattan,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the trust. “The tower would alter the character of the waterfront and block views of the Brooklyn Bridge.”

The announcement continues a long-running dispute among city officials, a developer, local residents, elected officials and preservationists over how to best protect and invest in the seaport, which needs hundreds of millions of dollars worth of work.

The Howard Hughes Corporation, which controls a major part of the seaport district under a lease with the city, is spending $425 million to rebuild Pier 17 and erect a glassy four-story mall.

The company has also sought public approval for a condominium tower on the waterfront nearby, while offering $300 million in public amenities that include renovating the historic Tin Building, affordable housing, a school and money for the financially crippled maritime museum.

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Construction work at Water and Fulton Streets. The National Trust for Historic Preservation put the South Street Seaport on its annual list of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.”CreditPablo Enriquez for The New York Times

In February, Hughes unveiled revised plans for a 43-story condominium tower (down from 50 stories), a proposal that was met with derision from Gale A. Brewer, the Manhattan borough president; Margaret S. Chin, the local councilwoman; and others.

“The listing underscores the local concerns that the seaport is being overshadowed by a shopping mall and a potential luxury tower,” said Peg Breen, president of New York Landmarks Conservancy.

More recently, Howard Hughes notified city officials that it was “working on a significantly revised plan to address the height issue.” Real estate executives say that Hughes is considering a much smaller building, while transferring development rights to another site it owns.

“In response to community concerns, we are exploring a significant reduction to the height of the proposed building on the New Market site,” Christopher Curry, senior executive vice president at Howard Hughes, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our long-term vision for the seaport celebrates the area’s rich history by creating a vibrant seaport district while also preserving its historic fabric and architecture.”

The waterfront and the buildings between Fulton and Beekman Streets have long been in danger of collapse because the piers beneath them are crumbling, according to city officials. Workers are removing the cooling structures attached to both the New Market Building and the Tin Building, a 1907 structure that was gutted by fire in 1995.

Given the enormous price tag for the waterfront renovations, the city decided to encourage development that would generate public improvements.

“We’ve known for several years that without substantial reinvestment these piers are going to collapse,” said Seth Myers, an executive vice president at the city’s Economic Development Corporation. “That’s the entire reason for the effort to redevelop the seaport.”

Over 28 years, the trust has identified 260 historic sites, Ms. Meeks said, but only 12 have been ultimately “lost.” Among the victims, she said, was the last New York City building to make the list, the Worldport Terminal at Kennedy International Airport, which was demolished in 2013.

Correction:

An earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of an executive vice president at the city’s Economic Development Corporation. He is Seth Myers, not Meyers.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: South Street Seaport on List of Imperiled Historic Sites. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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